A man, in the original sense, is an adult male; what is meant here, however, is one who has reached ten years of age and above. In the category of intermediate awrah, the author has mentioned four classes:

First: a male from ten years of age onwards. His awrah extends from the navel to the knee, whether he is free or enslaved.

Second: a female slave—even if she has reached puberty, namely, a woman who is owned. Her awrah extends from the navel to the knee. Thus, if a female slave were to pray with her body uncovered apart from the area between the navel and the knee, her prayer would be valid, because she has covered what she is required to cover in prayer . . .

As for the matter of looking, the jurists, may Allah Most High have mercy on them, stated that the awrah of a female slave likewise extends from the navel to the knee (1). However, Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, challenged this view with regard to looking (2), as Ibn Hazm also challenged it with regard to looking and prayer (3). He said: A female slave is like a free woman, because their nature is one and the same, and their physical constitution is one and the same. Enslavement is an incidental attribute external to her essential reality and nature, and there is no evidence for differentiating her from a free woman.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Although female slaves in the time of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, did not observe covering as free women did, this was because the temptation associated with them was less. They resembled elderly women who no longer hope for marriage